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According to figures from the European Union, England has the highest percentage of obese women in Europe.

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union has found that of 19 European countries England has the highest number of obese women.

The data shows that between 2008 and 2009, 23.9% of UK women were recorded as being obese. These figures are based upon data from England, although many surveys suggest that the percentage of obese adults in the rest of the UK would push this figure up to 28%.

Obesity is the term used to describe anyone who has a Body Mass Index (BMI) that is above a certain level. The calculation used to determine BMI takes into account a persons height and weight and is intended to estimate the percentage of body fat they are carrying.

Health secretary Andrew Lansley recently spoke up about the rising obesity rates in the UK, and said that he hopes to see these percentages reduced by 2020.

According to a recent report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, whilst alcohol consumption throughout most of Europe has declined, Brits have been drinking more than ever.

The results of the study show that British adults are now drinking 9 per cent more than they were in 1980, making the UK the ninth biggest drinking country in Europe.

During the same period, the alcohol consumption of France fell by 37 per cent whilst decreases were also seen across Germany, Spain and Italy.

Britain is already home to the most overweight male adults and the third most overweight population of children behind Greece and Italy, which in combination with our gradual increase in alcohol consumption makes us one of the unhealthiest countries.

Doctors from the Royal College of Physicians have recently recommended that drinkers take three days off from drinking alcohol each week in a bid protect their liver.

At the age of 25, Helena Cameron weighed 20 stone and couldn’t walk to the car without her feet throbbing.

Helena first started piling on the pounds as a teenager. Anxiety problems caused her to binge eat junk food and gorge constantly on chocolate, crisps and fizzy drinks. She admits that she’d often eat a large pizza to herself during the night.

She would often feel reluctant to go out in public in case people stared or laughed at her.

Helena’s life changed in December 2008 when her grandmother became concerned and took action by contacting a personal trainer called David.

Along with David’s personal training regime, Helena went to psychotherapy and hypnotherapy sessions to help stop her binging.

By December 2010, Helena had lost a staggering 5 stone and quit her job as a child support worker in order to concentrate on losing weight.

Coronation Street soap-star Antony Cotton has recently embarked on a profile-raising mission in ITV’s popular reality show ‘I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!’

The 36-year-old is 1 of the 10 ‘celebrity’ contestants who flew to an Australian jungle this week to take part in the outdoor survival-style challenge.

The programme is infamous for putting its fame-hungry contestants through a series of gruesome or frightening trials, such as sky-diving, wading through various soups of creepy-crawlies, eating strange body parts or swimming in shark infested waters.

This year’s line-up includes comedian Freddie Starr, US actress Stefanie Powers, McFly bassist Dougie Poynter and The Only Way is Essex’s Mark Wright.

Cotton, who plays Sean Tully in Coronation Street, has said: “I have a morbid fear of flying, I don’t like heights and I am claustrophobic. I have had hypnotherapy and I have...

43-year-old Louise Wilson suffered from a curious fear of stairs for 38 years before a hypnotherapist helped her discover it was the result of a childhood fall.

‘Bathmophobia’ is the official name used to describe a fear of steep slopes or steps. Louise Wilson suffered from this phobia for 38 long years and told the Daily Mail that she turned down various jobs simply because she would be expected to climb stairs inside the offices.

Louise has suffered from bathmophobia since she was five years old and has spent many years struggling to even get to the first floor of her own house, which she can only do by clinging onto the wall.

After she found that she could no longer even bring herself to take her son on day trips because she may encounter stairs, Louise decided it was time to seek help.

‘I would get panicky and full of adrenaline – I didn’t know what it’s like to not be frightened. It was a true phobia –...

Chopra said: “Your first bet’s your worst bet. As the years have come along and I’ve earned more money I’ve started to gamble more. I was gambling up to £20,000 a day at times. As soon as I’d step over the white line I would focus on football – but as soon as I got to the dressing room I would check my phone to see if I’d won.”

The striker has revealed that his move from Cardiff to Sunderland was based entirely on the sum of his signing-on fee, which was enough to pay off his looming gambling debts. He also admits playing through an injury so he could continue getting paid – a selfish decision that could have effected the success of the football team.

With the help of the Sporting Chance Clinic, the troubled footballer is now keen to fight his addiction and pay his...

According to experts from Oxford University, people living in England eat more fruit and vegetables and less fat and salt than Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish residents.

It is no secret that the average English diet is light years away from being perfect, but according to the latest figures, death rates in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland could be reduced by around 4,000 if residents were to follow an English style diet.

Experts from the Department of Public Health at the University of Oxford have said that numerous deaths could be prevented if Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland switched their diets to fall in line with the typical English diet.

Though the English diet is not the healthiest in the world, it is achievable for the rest of the UK and it could help to bridge the diet inequalities between nations.

Dr Peter Scarborough, lead researcher of the Health Promotion Research Group has said that the key dietary factor that...